If there's one recurring question that people have been asking for almost a year now, it is - "When is Panchayat 3 coming?" The TVF show on Amazon Prime Video is one of the most loved ones, and fans have been eagerly awaiting its next season. Starring Jitendra Kumar, Neena Gupta, Raghuvir Yadav among others, the show depicts the life of a city boy, who is hired as an staff member in a village panchayat. While he initially detests the position, he slowly and steadily warms up to the town and its residents. Writer Chandan Kumar, who is the mind behind the show, shared that they do not want to just sew together a story without due thought. He shared that they will take some time but will assure that they will have a new season before people start forgetting the show. "And they shouldn't worry as we have a few seasons planned," the writer shared, in an exclusive chat with indianexpress.com. He also shared that they never planned to have concurrent seasons, and would take a break in between. "It won't be possible to launch seasons immediately but we will get the next one before people start forgetting our show," he laughed. Asked if he's feeling the pressure, given people have a lot of expectations and anticipations about the third season, Chandan shared, "Of course, as and when seasons go on, the pressure piles up. I was worried about whether we would be able to crack the first season. And then when that worked, we wanted to be sure the second one does well. I think it is a never-ending process for any creator." While Chandan did not want to reveal what one can expect from the third season, the writer assured that the story would be seamless. "All the loose ends would be tied up. Also, the local politics was emerging last season with Bhushan coming up as an opposition. We will delve into that and also Abhishek and his tryst with government exams." He also shared that the team does go through fans' theories and feedback but most of the things are already locked. The writer, however, added that they enjoy the speculations as that makes them understand how much fans are enjoying the show. During the success interview of Panchayat 2, Neena Gupta shared with us how she wants to be in every scene of the new season. We wondered if actors, especially the senior ones, have such requests. "Not at all," he replied, adding that while the show is from Abhishek's (Jitendra) perspective, every character has its own arc and story. He added, "Every character is quite well-fleshed out and we never even had a tough time convincing them to come on board. Initially, they might have had apprehensions but when they read the script, they were all sold. I don't think we ever had an issue about screen time for any actor." One may have noticed how there were a number of similar shows post-Panchayat. Chandan Kumar acknowledged the influx but shared that there were many even before. He added that stories about a city man moving to the village is quite relatable for many. And did he get offers to write similar shows? "Too many," he smiled to add that he had to politely decline them all given he was focussed on his pet project. Has Chandan or the team sat down to decode the success of Panchayat? "I am not saying it was a great show but we never let our audience be bored. We held on to minute things which the audience too got hooked on to. Even with basic storytelling, one needs to just keep on adding newer elements. Also, the engaging track helped where people kept telling each other if they had watched the show. That was our biggest achievement," he said. On a final note, we discussed how there has been a buzz about Jitendra Kumar having a fallout with TVF, and may not return for the new season, Chandan just smiled to say, "Nahi, sab track pe hai (everything is on track)."
